Rosewood fretboards

trancegodz

trancegodz

Power User
I just got a Gibson 61 SG reissue.

The Rosewood fretboard has a noticeable scratchy sound when slowly bending strings that can be heard almost as loud as the note when recording. Is there any way to fix this or is this just the way rosewood fretboards are? Is this an issue only with certain types of rosewood fretboards?

Also when bending a string at any fret that has a pearl inlay fret marker there is a sticky feeling and a noticeable scratchy sound that can be heard almost as loud as the note when recording. My conclusion is that it is the type of pearloid material they are using.

This was not an issue at all on my old Les Paul Custom with an ebony fretboard or it's inlays. Not an issue on my Fender Stratocasters with maple fretboards either.
 
Honestly if you're scraping the fretboard when you're playing you're doing it wrong. You should be feeling mostly just strings under your finger

That being said, your problem sounds more like frets.....burrs on them will cause that, a light sanding and polishing should fix it
Could also be some finish stuck to the frets making it sticky, the same light sanding and polishing should fix that

Also fretboard oils will help a bit too, if nothing else, to keep the wood from drying out
 
I gotta go along with it being frets. You shouldn’t be able to press the string down to the fretboard, your fingertip’s pad will give well before then.

Play the guitar until it’s broken in if you’re getting that sort of sound.
 
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Thanks for the tips. The guitar is a brand new 61 Gibson SG w/maestro vibrato that I just got from Sweetwater.
I wouldn't think a brand new guitar need fret polishing, but maybe it does.

Thanks for the tips on oiling the fretboard also. What fretboard conditioner do you guys prefer?

I am wondering if it is the specific type of rosewood that Gibson is using now, and the type of inlays.

I also have the John Lennon Epiphone with a rosewood fretboard, and it does have some similar issues as the 61 SG rosewood fretboard, but no where near as bad. It's barely noticeable on the Epiphone.

I have the Joe Satriani Ibanez JS2400 with a rosewood fretboard and it is dead silent when bending notes. So it doesn't seem like it's an issue with rosewood fretboards in general.

I've been playing since 1964 and have never experienced this problem with any other guitars I've played before, and it doesn't happen on any of my other guitars.
 
Quality control from that manufacturer hasn't been highly regarded for many years. So I would lean that direction.

Sweetwater should have caught it with their 55-point inspection. But from my experience they've been slacking as well in that department in recent years. Since it was purchased new recently I'd contact your rep there and explain the situation and see what they say. They may offer to send you a prepaid label and have you ship it back so their team can actually do the inspection and fix the issue.
 
Use plain old mineral oil. Nothing fancy. 99% of the "Lemon Oil" fretboard products out there are nothing more than white mineral oil with a bit of lemon fragrance added. You can get it at any pharmacy in the digestive health isle and a couple bucks will get you enough to last about 10 years. Rub a wet oil residue onto the board using a soft cloth, let it soak in for a minute or two and then wipe off any remaining excess with a clean cloth.
 
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Id contact Gibson directly if its new, if your not happy then work with seller for return, or a luthier for second opinion, my guess the guitar went out the door before it was finished to meet a production deadline or just a general lack of qc.
 
trancegodz said:
I am wondering if it is the specific type of rosewood that Gibson is using now, and the type of inlays.
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The noise has nothing to do with the rosewood, or any wood. Press the string immediately behind the fret so your finger doesn't touch the wood and move the string across the fret slowly, and you'll feel, and probably hear, the string drag if the fret needs polishing.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
I gotta go along with it being frets. You shouldn’t be able to press the string down to the fretboard, your fingertip’s pad will give well before then.

Play the guitar until it’s broken in if you’re getting that sort of sound.
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Dude....how much do you actually PLAY your guitar? I've got med jumbo fretted guitars that have very noticeable grooves in the fretboard from years of shredding....just saying....a scalloped board is a total different story.
Pulling frets and re-planing a fretboard is pretty common on rosewood board restoration. Grooves = mojo
 
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Logically fretboard wood should be of no influence whatsoever in making unwanted noises in the interaction between string, fingers and frets. I'm kinda puzzled why the OP thinks it does.

Justincase said:
Dude....how much do you actually PLAY your guitar? I've got med jumbo fretted guitars that have very noticeable grooves in the fretboard from years of shredding....just saying....a scalloped board is a total different story.
Pulling frets and re-planing a fretboard is pretty common on rosewood board restoration. Grooves = mojo
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Stainless steel frets for the win! They're the only ones I use in my builds.
 
That scratchiness is probably the half-assed fret job coming out of the factory. First thing I do when getting a new guitar is to take it to my guy to do a complete setup and fret job on it.

Some thoughts I had before re-reading the original post and has nothing to do with what I think the OP said but may be applicable and/or of interest...

If you're shoving the strings into the fret board you're murdering your tone. You're out of pitch by 1/8 to 1/4, the texture of the fret board itself is interfering with the vibration of the string - every micro valley you hit bounces back into the string that's already trying to vibrate past the fret. Imagine playing an open string and then plucking the string behind the nut. Unless that's what you're looking for, that's not what you're looking for, you know?

And lastly there's the fretting. That much pressure is killing your strings vibration, like before, as you bend. The micro-terrain of the fret develops peaks and valleys like a record player and that topography is going to translate back into the string, interfering with the vibration, killing tone and sustain. That pressure is also digging into the frets, wearing the material, and you're making that erosion happen faster.

Ease up and let the guitar play. Look at how violinists and other fretless players play delicately even when they are playing aggressively. It's the lightest touch possible. I ry to apply the same approach to fretted instruments. Being in tune is something that I have become obsessed over (and all of my guitars piss me off because of it). Even the slightest bit too much pressure, much less pushing a string into the fretboard, drives me bananas, so I really work on technique and feel that prevents that from occurring.
 
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